Cactus Clubhouse

Desert Botanical Garden invites kids to engage with the outdoors around them at Cactus Clubhouse, a new nature play space.

The play area provides unstructured, child-led activities for kids from birth through age 12 to discover the fun of the natural world by climbing, creating and building with various organic materials.

Throughout Cactus Clubhouse, kids encounter several activity areas designed to spark independent play, while encouraging physical, cognitive and behavioral growth.

Activities include:

  • Nature Art – Children can work with natural materials such as seed pods and leaves to develop a deeper appreciation for the natural world, while strengthening skills in observation and creativity.
  • Music and Movement – This space features nature-based instruments and a place to move in order to help children discover basic concepts of sound and rhythm.
  • Climb – Children can climb, balance, jump and crawl to develop confidence, balance, coordination and risk-assessment.
  • Messy Materials – This area is filled with large-scale, loose parts to encourage building and imaginative play, which gives children a sense of accomplishment and belonging in the outdoors.
  • Build – This area features blocks made from natural materials to give children a different sensory and spatial experience, while strengthening math skills and conceptual thinking.
  • Dig – Children can use tools or their own hands to manipulate dirt and soil. This simple but rich multisensory experience can have a soothing effect on overstimulated minds and bodies.

The Cactus Clubhouse is made possible by grants from the USDA Forest Service and the Pharos Foundation in collaboration with Dimensions Educational Research Foundation.


Cactus Clubhouse

Through Sept. 30

Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix

For more information, visit dbg.org.

About Perrine Adams

Perrine Adams is the Managing Editor of The Red Book and Lifestyle Editor for Frontdoors Magazine.

From Frontdoors Magazine

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